One of the hardest parts of being a new vegan (or even an old seasoned vegan) is trying to keep up with all the new products out there. I must have spent over $50 looking for the "right" vegan cheese my first year being a vegan and I have over 50 vegan/vegetarian cookbooks in my arsenal but not all the recipes are the greatest. I’m the first born so I’m used to being a Guinea Pig and now I’m your Vegan Guinea Pig. So here are my recommendations and critiques. Let me know what you think!

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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Restaurant Review: La Parrilla Mexican Restaurant (Atlanta, GA)

It has come to my attention that I eat Mexican food at least once a day, sometimes for all three meals of my day including snacks. What can I say, I’m a California girl born and raised and no matter where I live in this world Mexican food will always be my favorite food to cook and eat (not to mention it’s so quick and easy to make!) Outside of Taco Bell (which doesn’t really count as a Mexican restaurant) I tend steer clear of most Mexican Restaurants primarily because of the use of lard in the refried beans. If I can’t eat beans and rice then there’s no point in me even entering the doors.

My girlfriends and I wandered into La Parrilla one afternoon look for margaritas and guacamole. My friends pointed out to me there was a vegetarian menu but I wasn’t too excited about it since I was sure that the beans would have lard in them. To my surprise they did not! La Parrilla uses vegetable shortening instead of animal fat in all their dishes! From that moment I was hooked. Veggie Fajitas, Enchiladas (bean, spinach and potato sin queso of course), Tacos, Chalupa’s, Burritos, nearly anything you can think of they have it. Just remember to order everything without cheese and you can’t go wrong. I go here about three times a month and amazingly they have never messed up an order or snuck a hint of cheese on anything. They also have an amazing guacamole and salsa, and don’t get me started on the Margaritas! By the way, Tuesday’s are $3 Margarita night and are worth the trip :) Not only is the food at La Parrilla astounding but the service is unmatched. I’ve never waited more than 5 minutes for my food to reach the table piping hot. Even in large parties the food was on the table and on our forks within 10 minutes, leaving us plenty of time to savor each bite of Mexican culinary happiness. The La Parrilla chain is growing throughout Georgia, it seems like a new one is popping up every month so check their website for a location near you. See you there!

UPDATE: Each LaParrilla is different, so please double check with your server to make sure the beans and rice aren't cooked in chicken stock. To date the Fayetteville location cooks there rice and beans in chicken stock and the Howell Mill location does not. No matter the location the VegiFajitas, Baja Fajitas, and Super Vegi Burrito are vegan (without the cheese of course).

I emailed them last week as well when I found out they've done a complete overhaul to all their menus and I talked to someone in management last time I was there. Apparently with their expansion into more restaurants they've "streamlined" the menu and now chicken broth is in the beans and the rice at all their stores. The fajitas are still great but no Mexican meal is complete without beans and rice so it looks like I'm going to have to find a new favorite restaurant.

Just a note to vegans seeking to eat Mexican food, I can tell you that enchilada sauce is traditionally made with chicken stock. You can't just order it sin queso. Also, many places cook vegetable items in butter. As an Atlanta resident vegan, Holy Taco in East Atlanta Village has one vegan taco that is SUPREME, and many incredible vegan cocktails. Front Page News also has a tidy little vegetarian menu, with several items that appear to be vegan. Other than that, I'm a Raging Burrito addict.